Althea's POV
"What did you mean when you said you made them invisible for their own good?" Lucy asks as we follow Coriakin through the halls of his mansion.
Caspian instructed the rest of the men to return to the beach, aside from Drinian,.
"It seemed the easiest way to protect them... from the evil."
Caspian and I share a glance, unsure of which evil he's referring to.
"You mean the mist?" Ed asks.
"I mean what lies behind the mist." He says, leading us into a small library.
The room is filled from floor to ceiling with books but that's not what leaves me speechless. Some sort of enchantment is making parts of the ceiling look like the night sky. Books are floating all over the place, putting themselves onto various shelves, it's like they have minds of their own. Coriakan walks to the front of the room and picks up a large scroll. He tosses it and it falls to the ground, unrolling into a large, animated map of Narnia. The water on the oceans is moving and clouds are floating where the sky would theoretically be.
"It's quite beautiful," Eustace says, shocking everyone. I smile at his embarrassment at having been caught enjoying himself.
"I mean for a make-believe map of a make-believe world." Edmund and Lucy scowl at him.
"Here is the source of your troubles." The map starts to move, zooming over the ocean like a bird. It lands on a dark cloudy island with green light shining from its core.
"Dark Island. A place where evil lurks. It could take any form." Coriakan moves in front of Ed as he says this warning. "It can make your darkest dreams come true." More like nightmares. His eyes bore into me next. "It seeks to corrupt all goodness. Steal the light from this world." He looks at Caspian.
"How do we stop it?" Lucy asks.
"You must break its spell." He turns around and points at Edmund's sword. "That sword you carry. There are six others."
"Have you seen them?" Ed asks.
"Yes."
"The six lords, they passed through here?" Caspian asks.
"Indeed."
"Where were they headed?"
"Where I sent them." The map moves again, this time to a small island covered in waterfalls. "To break the spell, you must follow the blue star to Ramandu's Island."
Everyone looks at me. I've never heard of this star or even seen it so I'm not going to be of much use in locating it.
"There, the seven swords must be laid at Aslan's table. Only then can the true magical power be released... But beware, you are all about to be tested."
My stomach sinks. "Tested?" I ask.
"Until you lay down the seventh sword, evil has the upper hand. It will do everything in its power to tempt you." He leans down so that his face is closer to mine. "Be strong. Don't fall to temptation." He pulls away and does the same to Caspian. "To defeat the darkness out there, you must defeat the darkness inside yourself."
Tension fills the air in a heartbeat and we all stare at each other, some nervous expressions and others determined.
~
When we get back to the ship, everyone is on edge, more so the ones who received Coriakan's warning. Lucy leaves to go entertain Gael and probably try to forget the eerieness from Coriakan. I don't blame her but I stay with Caspian and Drinian.
"There's a storm coming," Drinian says while staring at the horizon. At first, I think he's speaking hypothetically but dark clouds are rolling in from the east.
"How do you think we should handle it?" Caspian asks.
"It depends how long the storm lasts, but I say we tie everything down and wait to see if it'll pass."
"What if we get blown off course?" I ask.
"That's where you come in. You can pinpoint our location after. There's no way we can stay directly on course, only having a vague direction." Drinian explains.
"Okay." I agree, nervously scratching the back of my head.
"Let's go ahead and start the preparations Drinian."
"Ai your majesty." He nods and walks away, yelling orders to the crewmembers on deck.
"Come on," Caspian's voice is somber as he gently grabs my wrist.
"Where are we going?"
He doesn't answer but takes me to the small study at the front of the ship, so we can be alone.
"What's the matter?" I ask again.
He doesn't hold my eye contact but rests his hands on my hips and lifts me onto the table so we're at the same height, takes a deep breath, and starts to explain.
"I promised that I'd do everything in my power to help you find your aunt." He averts his eyes. A sinking feeling drags in my chest. I figured something was wrong regarding the magician, not my aunt.
"Yes?"
He takes a while to answer, but I wait.
"I broke that promise." I can feel the guilt washing over him as he takes a step back.
"What do you mean?"
"Back at the Lone Islands, Lord Bern told me something regarding you." The old man who kept looking at me oddly flashes in my mind. "He said that he was appointed to protect the Emperor and his family but when my uncle attacked, he failed."
"I don't understand what that has to do with me," I say, feeling slightly frustrated with how vague he's being.
"He said they were all murdered by my uncle, including the Emperor's only daughter. He believes that you are her. That you survived and are the only heir to the throne of the Lone Islands."
Time feels as if it's stopped. I can't breathe or feel my heart beating but I'm sure it is and that I am. He stares and waits for me to react, to be angry, to storm away, or cry out anything but I can't. This has to be some sort of sick joke or misunderstanding. I can't be some lost heiress to a group of islands I only saw for the first time a couple of days ago.
"Althea? Did you hear me?" Caspian asks.
"I- Surely this is a misunderstanding," I say quietly.
"I'm don't think so." He says.
I slid off the table. "Do you really believe it's true or do you want it to be true?" My voice sounds angrier than I intended but I can't take it back now.
He opens his mouth to say something but shuts it. Hurt flickers across his shocked expression and I immediately regret snapping at him.
"It's a lie. I know it is because I lived with my aunt and mother in Narnia. Yes my father was dead before that but it was from... from-" It's just slipped my mind. I was told how he died, I'm sure of it. It was sickness. No, maybe it-it's something else. Why can't I remember?
I press my hands to either side of my head as if I can pull the memory to the surface. Is it possible? I don't want to believe my entire family was slaughtered by Miraz, not after everything he put Narnia through, what he put Caspian through. To add this tragedy to the burning pile, I can't accept it.
"Is it true?" I ask. My voice gives out and cracks loudly as tears swell in my eyes, making my vision bleary.
Caspian steps in front of me again and slips his hands underneath mine so that I'm holding them instead of my head.
"I don't know for sure." He whispers. "But either way we'll work it out... We will work." He presses a gentle kiss into my forehead and wraps me in a tight hug. I try my best to do everything but break down but the moment he strokes my hair I crumble like sand. I sob into his chest, his shirt damp in seconds. The only person who knows the answer to this is my aunt and there's no telling where she is, let alone if she's even alive. I should've come to find her earlier instead of sitting around for three years.
"I'm sorry it's upsetting but after Coriakan's warning I didn't want to keep it from you," Caspian says, his grip not loosening in the slightest.
I take a few minutes to calm down before answering him.
"No. I'm grateful you told me." I take a shaky deep breath.
We pull apart and he wipes the remaining tears away with his thumbs.
"Should we go help with the storm preparations?" I ask and he laughs. "What?"
"Nothing. You don't have to though. You can wait below for me below deck."
"I'm not waiting anywhere. I want to help." He doesn't seem like he's going to budge so I keep talking. "If I'm below deck I'll just mope around."
He's quiet for a moment, contemplating my request with a hard gaze. "Alright, just stay close."
~~~
Thank you for reading!! I'm so so sorry for the later update again. Everything's okay, so sorry.
Regardless I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Love you all and thanks for being patient.